Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Yoshinori Kitase has provided a brief update on Square Enix’s next Final Fantasy XIII Lightning Saga project. Kitase produced XIII as well as XIII-2.

Speaking with Famitsu this week, Kitase noted that development on the new title (most likely XIII-3) has just started. Additionally, he confirmed that the official name of the project will be revealed during the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary event in Japan. Fans can expect news during the Final Fantasy XIII Lightning Saga New Developments Presentation, which takes place on September 1st.

Star Wars: The Old Republic will add a free-to-play option this Fall. Those who opt to play for free will have access to all the story content for all eight classes, and will be able to level a character all the way up to the current cap of 50. Some content will be restricted, though, and will only be attainable through paying a monthly subscription fee of $14.99 or using an upcoming in-game currency called "Cartel Coins" to make purchases (subscribers also get monthly allotments of Cartel Coins).

Paid content is said to include new high level content, new features and unlimited access. While free players will be able to access all the story content, they'll have to pay to access new content, as well as get additional bank slots and get unlimited plays in PvP warzones. Players who only play for free will be able to jump in warzones weekly, but only a few times before they're locked out of the content and asked to pay. Subscribers will have unlimited access to warzones.

Additionally, EA and BioWare say that the new free-to-play option will enable them to increase the frequency of content updates. The first of the new updates will come this August, alongside a temporary sale of The Old Republic for $14.99, which nets users both the game and a one-month subscription. The goal after that is to release content every six weeks, focusing on group content. If you're a previous subscriber and decide to come back, you'll get benefits. Cartel Coins will be used to reward returning players, which you can read more about at the game's official website.

The 3DS XL and New Super Mario Bros. 2 had huge debuts in Japan this past weekend. The 3DS XL moved 193,441 units in just two days, according to Famitsu’s Enterbrain data. New Super Mario Bros. 2 also came out strong with 430,185 copies sold.

Again, this information only accounts for two days of sales. The 3DS XL, along with New Super Mario Bros 2., were officially released in Japan on Saturday. Enterbrain’s tracking period for this data carried through Sunday.

Monday, July 30, 2012

From now through August 4th, the purchase of a new PlayStation Vita (Wi-Fi or 3G) will also get you a free copy of Gravity Rush and a free screen protector. That's roughly $50 worth of goodies for free!

After all of the commotion surrounding the release of Skyrim’s Dawnguard DLC on PlayStation 3 and PC, Bethesda has come out and said that news about these versions is forthcoming. Bethesda VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines, responding to fans thinking that Dawnguard wouldn’t come to platforms outside of the Xbox 360, said:

"I was simply stating that expecting/demanding something today is unfounded. Not that news is never coming.”

Hines followed up by saying, "Just sit tight. We’ll have info soon." He also indicated that Bethesda will have something to share later this week:

“Nothing has been said/announced about it. We should have info later this week."

It appears that the above video may hint at Kinect support for the game. At
the very end of the trailer, Most Wanted’s boxart is displayed, and it
shows the purple Kinect banner. EA hasn’t announced support for the peripheral as of yet. Perhaps a
confirmation could be on the way, assuming EA didn’t make an error here.

Orgarhythm is a rhythm-based combat game that doesn't sound too far off from something like a 3D Patapon. Players take control of a God-like figure who controls a set of elemental minions, and use the touch screen to choose formations while using different rhythms for different attacks

Capcom has started its fiscal year on a strong note. The Japanese publisher announced today that net income for its first quarter ended June 30 rose 290.2 percent from the previous year to 1.32 billion yen ($16.88 million USD). Net sales for the period jumped 55.8 percent to 18.62 billion yen ($238.2 million USD).

Capcom called out a number of properties as contributors to its bottom line, including Dragon's Dogma, which the company reiterated has now shipped 1 million copies worldwide. Capcom said the game "struggled" abroad following its release in May, but "exceeded expectations" in the domestic market.

The publisher also said sales of this caliber have "set the stage" for Dragon's Dogma to become a series.

The fourth demo for Bravely Default: Flying Fairy (the Job and Ability Volume), will launch in Japan on August 1st, Square Enix has announced. Players will have the opportunity to experience up to five jobs,
including the Freelancer, Knight, Mystic Knight, Red Mage, and
Superstar. Players will be able to sample some form of character
customization, change jobs, and customize abilities.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's first downloadable expansion, Dawnguard, was originally planed as a 30-days exclusive for Microsoft. That expired yesterday, but there is still no word on a PS3 or PC release for Dawnguard.

In a recent Twitter post, vice president of Bethesda Softworks Pete Hines said, "We have not announced Dawnguard for any other platform, nor given a timeline for any such news. If we have news, I promise I'd tell you." I'm not sure that's what PS3 and PC fans want to hear.

Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse, is an interactive Family Guy experience inspired by one of the most popular and notable episodes in the series’ history (Road to the Multiverse), coming to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall.

While an official announcement hasn’t been made, a comprehensive document has been discovered outlining the game’s numerous features and various elements.

The document describes Biker Bash as “a bike racing game that combines classic gameplay from titles like ROAD RASH/MOTORSTORM with modern fighting mechanics from STREETFIGHTER IV/FIGHT NIGHT and drags it kicking and screaming into the 21st Century with next-gen graphics, gameplay, and social features… all at a downloadable price point.” Included in Biker Bash are various single-player and multiplayer modes, competitive gameplay with friends, combat during racing, weapons and power-ups, items and upgrades, and more. Also mentioned is a RAGE meter that, when filled, can be used to “Rage Boost” past the competition or eliminate others on the race track.

Reddit user “696Ly” claims to have gotten his hands on leaked characters and stages from PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. 696Ly says that he received the images from “a friend of a friend” and promises that this source is “reliable”.

If you can get past the word “leak” cluttered on all of the photos, you’ll notice that they reveal a number of unannounced characters and stages from Sony’s upcoming fighter.